Pony in Wolf's Clothing
by rainbow-rider
Summary: An ambassador from another herd has divided the council in Dream Castle. Based on vintage ponies. Suggestions welcome.


DISCLAIMER: I do not own My Little Pony, the toys/characters and all related products belong to Hasbro, I am simply a fan writing for her own pleasure.  
  
BRIEF EXPLANATION: I am a UK collector so therefore I will tend to use the UK names of the ponies, however, in some cases I will choose the name which I like best (I personally think "Rainbow Rider" is a lot more elegant than "Streaky" but that "Wavedancer" is nicer than "Wavebreaker".) There is no specific chronology in my Ponyland so I apologise to fans that feel that I am messing up old established systems. (why did the ponies move to Paradise Estate- a castle is where they belong!) Also, old childhood habits die- hard and some of the ponies that were "officially" labelled girls by Hasbro became male in my herd when I was younger so please excuse the gender swapping of some characters.  
  
It was a grey and dismal afternoon in Ponyland. Autumn was drawing to a close but winter had not yet raised her snowy head. The top spires of Dream Castle were hidden by low cloud and even the bright colours of the buildings scattered in the valley around it seemed dull and lifeless. Rainbow Rider sighed as she stepped out of the Perm Shoppe, her hair had just been expertly re-curled by Fifi but looking at the state the weather was in she may have not even bothered. She stepped up to one of the small streams running through the valley and admired her reflection in the clear water. A gentle flick of her tail made the curls fall in a very pleasing way and she smiled as a wave of self-satisfaction flowed over her.  
  
"Ahem," Rainbow Rider's reverie was broken by a subtle cough from the direction of one of the bridges crossing the stream, looking up she saw a pink Pegasus perched on the bridge's pillar. The wet purple mane of the Pegasus was slicked over her neck and face; she had obviously been flying through the low clouds.  
  
"What's the matter North Star?" Rainbow Rider asked, slightly more coolly than she really wanted to.  
  
"I'm very sorry for disturbing you Rider but Majesty is calling together the council straight away, you've been difficult to find." North Star flicked a wet lock of hair out of her eye, subtly indicating a long search as she gave the rainbow pony a forced smile.  
  
"Of course, I'll come straight away." Rainbow Rider winked away to avoid a longer conversation with North Star. As she trotted towards the pink castle her front curl got twisted around her horn and no amount of head tossing would free it adding to her gradually worsening bad mood.  
  
"Pretentious North Star," she mumbled to herself, "Acting as if she always has more important things to do. Thinks she's something else she does." Trotting over the drawbridge of the castle Rainbow Rider came to a halt inside the spacious entrance hall and paused to rub her horn with a front leg to release the now truly matted curl. Flipping it angrily out of her eyes she briskly made her way to the council room where she found, much to her annoyance, North Star had already beaten her and was comfortably settled next to Wind Whistler at the council table. Rainbow Rider took a deep breath and took her place between Glory and Lofty. As if aware that the final council member had taken her place an adjoining door opened and Majesty entered the room followed by Spike carrying a clipboard and a pile of papers. Majesty nodded and smiled regally at the assembled council of twenty ponies. Spike settled himself on a specially high chair, spread out his papers and with pen poised indicated to Majesty that he was ready to start taking the minutes.  
  
"I have called this meeting of the council at such late notice because of a new development regarding our diplomatic negotiations with the Wolf Pony herd on the other side of the mountains." Majesty got straight to the point with the council. Rainbow Rider shuddered, the Wolf Pony representative that had arrived in Dream Valley early in the summer had startled them all. The wild looks of the hairy sharp-toothed half pony- half wolf had caused discomfort throughout all the ponies and many of the baby ponies would still not approach him towards the end of his visit. Majesty continued, "Our invitation for them to join us for our midwinter celebrations has been accepted."  
  
"Does that mean that Firefly has returned?" Lofty interrupts Majesty in a rush, and then bowed her head in apology.  
  
Majesty smiles at Lofty, "It does indeed mean that Firefly has rejoined us, she is currently resting after her long journey and will be giving us a full report on her visit to their land tomorrow. We now have the task of organising a suitable reception for our guests who will be sending an assembly of approximately twenty ponies towards midwinter."  
  
"That is if you can class them as ponies," Tex said darkly. Majesty looked at him and nodded,  
  
"I acknowledge that there is some aversion to this new herd, but it was decided by vote by the council when the ambassador arrived in summer to offer them our hoof in friendship."  
  
"Definitely seemed the best option at the time, considering there was a carnivorous wolf-pony staying in the castle." Ice Crystal voiced the opinions of most of the council. This had been one of the major concerns for the majority of ponies who had met Fleet Foot, the wolf-pony. His ominous absence at meals when he was staying had caused discomfort and very few ponies had been happy to be alone with him.  
  
Glory shuddered, "Those teeth."  
  
Wind Whistler spoke up vehemently, "The anxiety among the ponies who only saw Fleet Foot's outwards appearance is understandable but it is inexcusable from the council members who spent a great deal of time talking to him. I think we can all agree that Fleet Foot was courteous, gracious and a pleasure to talk to. We should be able to look beyond the surface and see the character."  
  
"Well, spoken Wind Whistler," Majesty turned to the blue Pegasus, "You spent the most time with our guest when he was here, tell us, what is your view on entertaining a group of his kind?"  
  
Wind Whistler looked around at the other ponies, "I have already said that I found the wolf-pony to be good company and in my opinion if he is representative of all his kind then I would gladly entertain any number of them."  
  
"But, he may not be representative of them all, it may be likely for that there may be some less trustworthy characters in the wolf-pony delegation." Glory suggested.  
  
"We shouldn't judge people before we even meet them," Gusty said.  
  
"But it's naïve to suggest that in a group of twenty ponies they will all be as pleasant as Fleet Foot." Rainbow Rider finally spoke up.  
  
At this point a small blue earthling cleared her throat, Rainbow Rider was surprised to see Bow Tie join in the discussion as she was normally silent during council meetings unless specifically asked for her opinion. The other ponies were surprised too and fell silent as Bow Tie started speaking.  
  
"As we were the ones to make the invitation for the Wolf-Ponies to join us for midwinter, diplomatically we cannot withdraw it. As for whether Fleet Foot was a typical example of their kind the only person to answer that would be Firefly who has spent the last month with their herd. I suggest that we wait for Firefly's report tomorrow and then make plans for the approaching visit. And I think it would make more sense to become allies with the Wolf-Ponies rather than have them as enemies."  
  
As Bow Tie stopped speaking and looked shyly down at the table, the other ponies looked at each other in silence. It had probably been the longest speech that any of them had ever heard Bow Tie make but it made a lot of sense to them all.  
  
Majesty broke the silence, "I think that Bow Tie has made the most productive comments, the council will meet again tomorrow morning to hear Firefly's report and then we can discuss this further. Thank you everyone." Majesty stood up and left the room, Spike gathered up his papers and followed her. The council started to disperse talking quietly to their closer companions. Wind Whistler walked out onto the balcony from the room and rested his head on the balustrade. The grey clouds had turned to an inky black and the normally breathtaking view across the valley was hidden from his eyes.  
  
"Whistler?" North Star had joined him on the balcony; he flicked an ear in her direction and ruffled his wings. North Star understood the unspoken words from her old friend and stood motionless by his side, wingtip to wingtip, as a roar of thunder shuddered through the valley, voicing their trepidation about what was to come. 


End file.
